On Tuesday, my sleep was interrupted by a phone call from Billy Weber. He told me that he had just seen a Varied Thrush from his workplace parking lot in Hanover Township! After saying some choice words in respect to my surprise, I thanked him for the call and quickly got my butt into gear. I arrived at the spot and found several birders, including Jason, already there. He told me that a Merlin had flown in and the thrush flew off along with a flock of Robins. I spent the next several hours waiting for the bird to return, but it never did. I went into work and, at first break, found out from Jason that the bird had returned very late in the day. I told him that I planned to be there at first light and hope for a better outcome.
Wednesday morning under overcast skies and with a snowstorm approaching, I was in position near the main crabapple tree that the bird had been seen in. Thankfully around 7:00 AM, the first bird to fly into the tree was the
Varied Thrush! I had nice looks at this striking adult male as it fed on the crabapples. Lighting was definitely an issue, but I was happy to get some fairly nice photos of the bird.
I left there much happier than the day before and work didn't seem as tedious that night. Additional photos of the bird can be found in my
2019 Local Notables Album.
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